Teacher's King-size Effort Helps At-risk Kids

Kids call her The Chess Lady. Her name is Irene Darnell. Her motto: Push pawns, not drugs.

She retired after 30 years as a cashier and enrolled in the Foster Grandparent Program. "All those seniors sitting on their duffs doing nothing," she says. "It's a crime."

One day she brought a chess set along to entertain latchkey kids, who were only 5. "They had to kneel on chairs to reach the board, but they took to it real fast. Chess fascinated them."

It was a revelation. She asked a school to give her 45 minutes on Thursday morning to teach chess.

"Wow! Kids soon began beating me. Suddenly, I realized there was a brain in those heads that we hadn't begun to tap into."

Irene embarked on a crusade. A high-risk school invited her to teach chess to 300 problem kids ranging in age from 8 to 12.

"In my 17 years of education I never ever saw something grab hold of so many kids and just soar," said the astonished principal.

In 1992, President Bush flew to Reno to present her with a medal as A Point of Light. Today, a $40,000 grant enables Irene, 82, and two aides to expand their pilot program to four schools. "But we have to sweat out the funding each year," she says.

"We reach 1,500 kids -- half are Hispanic, black or Indian. It's a voluntary program, but nobody has ever turned down the opportunity to learn chess. Some schools give them 10 hours of credit for math. They have to follow rules but learn they can still have fun. Like real life.

"Now they settle disputes with chess instead of fists. Parents simply can't believe what chess does for their kids."

A few years ago, the mayor proclaimed May 9 as Reno Chess Day. "Next year I hope it falls on a weekday so we don't have to go to school," said a kid who beat Hizzoner in a game.

Solution: 1 Nb7! Composed by J.C. van Gool.

Larry Evans is a five-time U.S. chess champion and nationally syndicated chess writer. Write to him at P.O. Box 1182, Reno, Nev. 89504.